Larger wheels
The automotive market continues to move towards larger wheels. However, the weight of increasingly large steel and aluminum wheels creates additional challenges for EV manufacturers. EVs are already heavier than ICE vehicles due to the weight of batteries, and additional weight on a vehicle reduces its range. As the size of these wheels increases, it therefore becomes increasingly impractical to combine them with batteries. The additional weight of larger wheels also increases the strain on vehicle suspension, challenges vehicle performance and makes it harder for manufacturers to meet performance targets for the vehicles.
Carbon Revolution is well progressed with the development of a 24-inch carbon fibre wheel which is as strong as an aluminium wheel of the same size, but weighs the same as an 18-inch wheel – around 45-50% lighter. At that size, weight savings can be more than 100 lbs across four wheels.
By modifying the wheel's complex internal carbon fibre structure, significant improvements in load rating can be realised without a major weight penalty, allowing fitment of lightweight wheels with very high load ratings, ideal for the emerging generation of EV pickups and SUVs.
Carbon fibre wheels can reduce road noise compared to aluminium wheels. While metal wheels can act like a bell, the low density, highly damped nature of carbon fibre reduces the transmission of road noise.
Unlike metals, carbon fibre is an anisotropic material, which means the complex internal structures of carbon fibre wheels can also be 'tuned' to avoid resonant frequencies which coincide with other frequencies in the vehicle – perceived as road noise by vehicle occupants.
Reductions in NVH are particularly noticeable in EVs, where near silent powertrains make road noise more apparent to occupants. While strategies to reduce sound result in adding weight to a vehicle, Carbon Revolution reduce noise, and save weight
